Category Archives: Weird At My School

Every year KEXP counts down the Top 90.3 records of the year, as voted on by listeners. But if you’ve ever poked around the Charts tab of KEXP.ORG and clicked through the Top 90.3 archives, you’ve probably noticed that our posted lists only go back to 1994. Surprise, surprise! While digging in the vaults last week,Read more…

For the diehard music geek, a towering stack of vinyl can evoke all kinds of emotions, from the excitement of discovering a promising stash at a garage sale to the dread of all the heavy lifting required when it comes time to move. The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, which opened at the Henry ArtRead more…

Inspired by the success of this summer’s “4AD 4VR” theme show (as well as some surprising results in the countdown of the Top 500 songs of all time), tonight my program celebrates Manchester’s seminal Factory Records. From 9PM to 1AM, “FAC 90.3″ will showcase the artists, both legendary and less so, that made this upstartRead more…

I geeked out hard about my adoration of UK synth-pop duo Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on the KEXP blog last year, and I was beside myself with joy when they played live for KEXP during the 2011 SXSW music conference. Well, except for the fact that I wasn’t there! Happily, OMD are touring theRead more…

Almost inevitably, when I meet with clients for weddings and other events where I’ve been hired to DJ, and I ask what kind of music they like and dislike, they say “…and no disco.” But after digging a little deeper, what usually comes forth is that they really don’t want to hear the same half-dozenRead more…

When I read the opening paragraphs of Frank Bruni’s editorial for the Sunday New York Times, for a moment I thought the Op-Ed contributor had been flipping through my diary: IN the mid-1980s, when I was in college, what concerned and frustrated my peers and me was how few states had basic statutes forbidding discriminationRead more…

Tonight I’m thrilled to be hosting in-studio performances by two influential artists: At 9 PM we’ll be broadcasting a session with Robin Guthrie (formerly of Cocteau Twins), followed by another from Brendan Perry (formerly of Dead Can Dance) at 11 PM. And since both those men got their start recording for the iconic independent labelRead more…

I don’t know why I’m so astonished by the caliber of Oceanea, the new EP from Thomas Dolby, and his first release of all-new music in almost 20 years. Heaven knows, the music press is lousy right now with favorable write-ups for recent activity from acts who last troubled the pop charts when Ronald ReaganRead more…

The career of Claudia Brücken is a triumph of quality over quantity. Although the German singer has been making records since 1984, when she bowed with Propaganda‘s dark and majestic single “Dr. Mabuse,” her core discography features only five full-length albums, each made with different collaborators. Certainly “Greatest Hits” discs have been compiled from farRead more…

When I was a little boy, folk music was the only kind of pop I knew. My father had an enormous LP collection, but it was comprised almost entirely of classical fare. At the far end of the bottom cabinet, partially blocked by a side table, was the only evidence I could find that myRead more…